


We Got Linked(In)

by celestialusts



Category: NCT (Band), NCT Dream
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Awkward Crush, Awkward Romance, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, Jeno finds Renjun extremely cute, LinkedIn? More like LinkMeWithHim, M/M, Renjun is not a subtle stalker, Romance, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:36:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29737440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialusts/pseuds/celestialusts
Summary: “Renjun,” Jaemin starts, sighing. “Do you know that whenever you visit a profile on LinkedIn, the person gets notified of it?”Renjun gasps. “What?”“Which means,” Jaemin squints at the name displayed on the screen, right beneath an encircled picture of a man, a very handsome one (Jaemin doesn't deny that). “This Lee Jeno guy probably knows that you visit his profile at least 200 times a day.”
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 36
Kudos: 236





	We Got Linked(In)

**Author's Note:**

> a short noren fic inspired by linkedin! enjoy!
> 
> twitter: [ @celestialusts ](https://twitter.com/celestialusts) | curiouscat: [ @celestialusts ](http://curiouscat.me/celestialusts)

Renjun comes to the realization that his Economics degree is going to end up in the trash bin really soon. Probably, in ten minutes.

"Why the fuck is it so hard to get a call back from any of the companies I've applied to?" Renjun grumbles in absolute annoyance, bringing both of his palms to cover his entire face in an attempt to subtilize the muffled scream he lets out. "Not even one!" He says, exasperatedly, leaning back onto the poor excuse of a couch — brown-coloured (Renjun doesn't even remember if that's even the actual colour of the couch), old, shabby, torn and almost cushion-bare.

That's the least of his concern though.

Well, for one, Renjun is unemployed. Secondly, he is way more concerned on having food (they're mainly instant noodles) in the cupboard than to replace the couch that has been sitting in the house twenty-years before he even started renting it. There's not a third, he's just _broke_.

So, Renjun comes to one conclusion: Unemployment is a menace to both the society _and_ his bank account.

"I really gotta land a job soon," Renjun utters, eyes shut to try gaining a shred of peace before the front door clicks open and his serenity is quickly disrupted by the shrill, annoying voice of his housemate who makes it his daily routine to scream 'I'm home, baby!' every single day, much to Renjun's umbrage.

Renjun falls down on his side onto the couch, and stares absent-mindedly ahead.

Jaemin flaunts the usual, big and idiotic grin on his face as he throws himself against the couch from behind and hangs himself a little forward to look at his housemate's crippled figure laying on the couch. "I'm back!" and at that, Renjun sighs as he turns his body to face Jaemin, laying flat on his back, completely bedraggled.

"Jaemin," Renjun starts. "You do know that you aren't exactly quiet in announcing your presence home, right? Your voice alone can wake up the entire flat," Jaemin only grins wider. "So, what's up?" Renjun asks.

Jaemin wastes no time before he strides over to the front side of the couch, making a space for him to sit as he pushes Renjun aside then plopping down his entire weight onto the couch, only to wince in pain as he feels his ass hitting the wooden planks that are inserted inside the cushion as a support (but now there are just those without the cushion).

But that doesn't hinder Jaemin the slightest bit into sharing with Renjun the story of how he made out with his hot officemate at the office's stairs during lunch break and the said officemate agreeing to go on a date with him sometime around the following week. "Lee Donghyuck was fucking hot," Jaemin salivates and Renjun watches in disgust. "Good Lord, save me the details! I don't want to know your dirty deeds at the office, Jaemin." Renjun wonders how did he even end up with Jaemin, he wasn't _this_ distasteful when they were in high school although Jaemin did have lapses in his judgements during their university years but eight months working eight to five, Jaemin is now a different person (sexually speaking).

"Anyway, gotten yourself an offer yet?"

At the question, Renjun grimaces internally. "No."

After a long silence, Jaemin finally voices his thoughts. "Have you tried LinkedIn?"

Renjun frowns as he sits up straight, then propping his elbow on the back rest and resting his head on his palm, body turned entirely to face Jaemin.

"L-Link what?" Jaemin stares in both disbelief and amusement at his best friend. "You _don't_ know LinkedIn, Renjun?" Renjun shakes his head.

"Then how the fuck did you find jobs to apply for? Don't tell me through the—" " _Newspapers._ " Jaemin gasps in horror. "Who even finds jobs through newspapers anymore?! Oh God, let's make yourself a LinkedIn. Right now."

Renjun protests, in his defense, he isn't particularly good with anything electronic or involving the internet. He has a ready template everytime he needs to apply for jobs through the emails, only having to alter the littlest bits of information like the company's name and the job position and to whom it may concern, and then attaching his resume as the last step. Press send. Boom, _done._ Renjun finds it easier.

Jaemin wants to laugh at his best friend, he really does.

"Renjun, everybody uses LinkedIn nowadays. It's really so, so much easier. Trust me. Let me—" Jaemin's voice gets stuck in his throat as he reaches out to grab his bag on the floor and pulling out a grey-polished laptop from it. Setting it on their coffee table, which seems to rattle anytime soon, Jaemin pulls Renjun down to sit beside him on the floor. He then quickly types in something in Google Chrome and soon they're both greeted with the clean, neat, mostly blue interface website Jaemin calls LinkedIn, Renjun remembers that much. " _This_ is LinkedIn, my dear friend," Jaemin begins. Renjun can only stare in confusion. "Let's start with the basics."

After almost an hour of setting Renjun's profile up — well, an usual thirty-minutes task took longer because Renjun couldn't stop asking very trivial questions but luckily Jaemin found it within himself enough patience to deal with every single one of them (barely).

"Finally!" Jaemin clasps both of his hands together, feeling absolutely proud particularly at himself. "You have your own LinkedIn now. I've shown you how to do things earlier so now, you can try looking for jobs and sending in your resume!" Jaemin grins brightly, only for it to falter the moment Renjun asks him, "I have to press this to send in my resume, right?" and Jaemin sighs, "Renjun, that's your _own_ page."

Jaemin wonders how did Renjun even graduate with a perfect GPA while being _this_ poor with technology and anything internet.

It'll take a while for him to adjust, Jaemin concludes. Uh, maybe a very long while.

Renjun has gotten a few calls after a week of non-stop resume sending, asking him to come in for interviews and such, and his face is a lot brighter now.

Mainly for two reasons:

1\. The job offers are coming in left and right, although he's still currently looking for the perfect fit of a job. Better than nothing.

2\. More than the job offers, he finds himself staring at the profile of a Very Handsome stranger. **Around 200 times, _a day_.**

Renjun sighs dreamily, his heart eyes staring long and hard at the screen. His chin is propped in between the curve of his palms latched together as his elbows are planted on the coffee table (which surprisingly is still standing strong). Renjun doesn't know if it's the lack of romance in his twenty-five years of life or if it's his eyes betraying him, but that man, the stranger bordered in the encirclement of profile picture is really too attractive for Renjun to simply scroll past through.

Hence why, at twelve in the afternoon, on a Sunday, in the living room, Renjun is in front of his laptop salivating over the stranger named Lee Jeno.

He found the profile about three days after he started using LinkedIn, accidentally stumbling across the profile when he was going through the 'Lee' tag. Not that he'd complain though. He just stopped clicking the mouse and scrolling through the page as his jaw was left agape. "Damn, with an expensive face like this, he doesn't even need to work, what the fuck," Renjun had muttered to himself and then discovered himself being a loyal viewer of the man's page every five minutes. "Is it even legal to have a face like this?"

Lee Jeno, 28, graduated from Seoul National University, majored in Economics, is currently working as a Senior Financial Analyst at SM Corporations. _Impressive_ , Renjun thought to himself. Graduating from Seoul National University is one thing, but working at one of the major corporations in South Korea? That's even more impressive.

And all the more reasons why Renjun comes back every day to view the man's profile.

As he's deep in his daylight dreaming, Jaemin comes home bringing two plastic bags of Chinese food and places them on their kitchen table.

Renjun doesn't realize that Jaemin is approaching until he hears Jaemin's deep voice right beside his ear, asking, "What are you looking at?" and Renjun swears that he can feel his heart dropping onto the ground, his body jerking forward and his chin slipping from his palms as he screeches in shock. "You startled me! The fuck!"

Jaemin looks at Renjun, clearly unfazed before he turns to look at the blaring light exuded from the laptop screen. Renjun widens his eyes before he hurriedly tries to pull the screen down, away from Jaemin's prying eyes. But Jaemin is fast enough to hold the piece in place, and examining the page last viewed by Renjun.

“ _Renjun,_ ” Jaemin starts, sighing. “Do you know that whenever you visit a profile on LinkedIn, the person gets notified of it?”

Renjun gasps. “What?”

“Which means,” Jaemin squints at the name displayed on the screen, right beneath an encircled picture of a man, a very handsome one (Jaemin doesn't deny that). “This Lee Jeno guy probably knows that you visit his profile at least 200 times a day.”

At that, Renjun's jaw is left agape as his eyes widen in pure terror and horror. "You're shitting me."

Jaemin offers a I-wish-I-am-kidding-but-I-am-not smile and Renjun throws his head in his hands, pulling his hair in between. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Now, he probably thinks I'm a creep. Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" Renjun half cries, and half moans in exasperation. Jaemin gives a nonchalant shrug, then leaning his back against the couch as he sits beside Renjun on the floor. "I didn't know that you'd find yourself a potential boyfriend rather than a potential job position, Renjun," Jaemin says, and now he's breaking into a fit of annoying cackles. "But he's hot, though," Jaemin grins. "I gotta give you credits for having good eyes." Renjun holds himself back from committing slaughter.

And another thought comes to mind and Renjun isn't the slightest glad. He's terrified, even.

_He applied for SM Corporations._

But Renjun tries to convince himself that he's never going to a call from them, let alone a job at—

"Yo, your phone's ringing." Jaemin says, before handing Renjun's phone to the still, dazed latter. Renjun snaps back to reality before hastily answering the call without even looking at the caller's ID.

"Hello?" Renjun says, warily. Jaemin watches as Renjun's face shifts from and to different expressions and once the call ends, Renjun turns to Jaemin, eyes wide.

Jaemin quirks an eyebrow up.

" _Shit._ " Renjun breathes out.

Pacing around his bedroom, well his _and_ Jaemin's bedroom, Renjun is worried, scared, terrified and everything _not_ good.

Jaemin is already dressed in his office attire, a simple soft blue lined button up shirt, a dark blue tie neatly wrapped around his neck paired with a rather nice fitting black slacks. He rubs his temples, head dizzy from watching his best friend aimlessly pacing around the bedroom — already dressed in a white button up shirt, a black tie, and black slacks to complete the I-have-a-job-interview look.

"Will you, for the love of God, stop doing that?" Jaemin groans. "It's almost seven, and we'll definitely miss the bus if you keep on walking around like a lost cause for another twenty minutes. _Come on_ ," He says, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "It probably won't be him that's going to interview you anyway. Chill."

Renjun halts in his steps, turning to give Jaemin a look. "But—"

Jaemin stands up and walks over to clamp Renjun's mouth before he sputters out anymore nonsense. "Let's _go._ "

Jaemin's stop was just one stop before Renjun's, but he didn't forget to wish Renjun a bubbly 'good luck!' for his job interview before getting off.

Now, Renjun is left alone, with his head glued onto the window as he contemplates on everything. _Please don't let it be him, please don't let it be him, please don't let it be him._ Renjun prays to God along the way, because he won't know how to react if the person he had been ogling at for the past week and probably knew of the unhealthy amount of times Renjun had paid his profile a visit sits in front of him and conducts the interview.

He thinks that he will probably malfunction.

After getting off the bus, Renjun's eyes dilate wildly in pure amazement as he looks at the humongous, sleek building in front of him. _SM Corporations._

Anybody would be a fool not to want to work here. So Renjun pushes his weird manifestation (that's what he decides to call it) on Lee Jeno aside and focuses on getting himself a job at one of South Korea's major corporations. Perhaps, he can change that shabby couch into a nicer one, soon.

Renjun gets into the elevator with a few other people, some having lanyards around their necks so Renjun assumes that they're employees or employers or whatever of the said company while there are also some people dressed almost similarly to him, looking nervous and skittish — _ah, my fellow comrades_. Renjun smiles to himself.

Just when the elevator door is about to close, it quickly retracts at the sound of a faint 'ding', meaning that someone must've pushed the button again.

A tall, broad man, clad in a navy suit top to the bottom, obviously tailored from the way the suit fits him close to perfection, with a white button up underneath, enters the space muttering a firm, apologetic 'sorry' earning a 'it's fine, Sir' and something along those lines from the fellow employees. Renjun is almost pushed to the back of the metal box, so he doesn't really have the chance to clearly see who it is. Not that it's any of his business, though.

One by one of the workers take their leave at every stopping floor, until it's only Renjun and a few other interviewees left.

The elevator ride to the 33rd floor is painfully long for Renjun, as he begins to lick his lower lip in evident anxiousness.

" _33rd floor._ " The automated voice of a female resonates as the elevator ride comes to a stop, indicating that they've reached where they're headed to.

A woman, dressed rather elegantly greets the four interviewees in front of a room, enclosed by the matte-polished glass which gives anyone little to no room to peek inside. "Alright, so, you all may sit here while waiting for your turn. The interview will take, probably around," The lady contemplates for a moment. "45 minutes, at most." All of them including Renjun nod, and Renjun tries to calm himself down.

It's not his first job interview, but a first at a giant company like where he is now. The job position is exactly what he yearns for, the pay is better than the average, the place is nice, and basically everything Renjun has imagined his first job to be.

"Huang Renjun." Renjun's ears perk up when he hears his name being called, and when he looks to his side, he realizes that he's alone. Which means, the other interviewees have left, leaving him alone waiting for his turn. With a smile, Renjun gets up and follows the lady inside the room.

The first sight he sees is a long table, and seated behind are four people, making up the panel of interviewers. _Seo Youngho. Kang Seulgi._ _Lee Taeyong. Son Seungwan._

Renjun lets out relieved sigh, mentally, when he sees no trace of Lee Jeno. Gulping his nervousness away, he manages to go through the interview rather smoothly.

"That went better than I expe—" Renjun's eyes bulge in shock when he realizes he has bumped into another person and completely causing the cup of coffee in the latter's hand to fall onto the floor, splashing hot liquid all over. He had been rambling and mumbling about the interview session so much that he didn't pay much attention to what's in front. "Oh God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to— Are you okay? Are you—" Renjun panics.

When Renjun sees the person straightening himself up, his eyes feel like they're almost out of their sockets. _Lee fucking Jeno._

"It's alright, it's alright," Renjun is still in a daze, and Jeno flaunts the sweetest, the most beautiful, the most dazzling, the prettiest smile Renjun has ever seen in his entirety of twenty-five years of living. "It's no big deal, I wasn't looking around either, are you okay?" Renjun stares, a tad bit too long until the person breaks out into a fit of chuckle. _Even that sounds like music._ Renjun's in too deep now.

Renjun can't help but to gawk at how _more_ attractive Jeno seemingly is in real-life, clad in an impeccable fitting of the navy suit, black leather shoes, his black hair half slicked back and half let free creating a masculine, handsome look and the golden-framed glasses sitting on his face. Lee Jeno looks like a fucking ethereal being.

Shaking his head to snap himself back to reality, Renjun quickly waves his hands in dismissal. "I-I'm good. N-No worries." Renjun's face has turned beet red, and he wants nothing more than to get himself out of the situation he is in right now. But it seems like the deity isn't in the mood to grant some wishes today. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere," Jeno starts and as if something flashes right before his eyes, Jeno breaks into a wide grin.

"LinkedIn?" _Oh shit, I'm screwed._

Renjun is at loss for words, and soon enough, he finds himself seated across Lee Jeno in a cafe down the street, not far from the company. Jeno has somehow convinced Renjun into agreeing to get lunch together, and Renjun, still feeling sorry for the spilt coffee from earlier found himself not at refusal. So, there they are.

Renjun bites his lower lip anxiously as his face is downcast, staring at the wooden table while sucking the hell out of his straw of his strawberry smoothie.

Jeno takes a sip of his hot cappucino before carefully putting the cup down, then bringing his eyes to look at the figure in front of him. _Finally_. Jeno smiles.

" _So—_ " Both of them speak simultaneously, and Jeno gestures for Renjun to go ahead and Renjun quickly shakes his head, wanting Jeno to go first.

Not fancying the push-and-pull game anymore, Jeno goes straight to the point. He isn't one to beat around the bushes anyway.

"So, Huang Renjun," Renjun shuts his eyes in shame, Jeno _definitely_ knows that he's the one visiting his profile for at least a thousand times now. "Pretty name."

Renjun can't help but to blush at that. _Good Lord, can't he stop being more attractive than he already is?_

"I honestly have no better assumption as to why you've viewed my LinkedIn profile for about a thousand times now in a span of a week other than that, you, uh," Jeno halts for a bit, " _want_ to get to know me?"

Renjun really isn't expecting that, what he was initially expecting is Jeno calling him out for being a creep or asking Renjun to get away from him or that he's probably _married_ or something. But Jeno is rather calm.

"I—" Renjun stammers. "In all honesty, I didn't know that people can actually know when someone's viewed their profile, let alone the amount of times someone's done that." Renjun sees a growing simper on Jeno's face. What for? Renjun isn't sure. "I just think that you're, you're really handsome, and, and," Renjun glances around, as if he can find words on the floor to pick them up in an attempt to deliver a response. "I find you really impressive. I swear I'm not a creep, I just! I just like you, like— uh, not that _like_ like but like, oh God, what am I even say—" Jeno reaches out to ruffle Renjun's hair gently, and Renjun sits, frozen.

"I'm actually interested in you too." _What?_

At Renjun's dumbstruck expression, Jeno can't help but to laugh. "You know, there are two ways you can stalk someone on LinkedIn without getting noticed. One, you go to your settings and make your profile private so people cannot see if you've visited their profile, _but_ you won't be able to see who visited yours if you do this. Two, you make a fake account."

Renjun nods, but also not understanding where this whole conversation is going.

"I did the second one and then... I put it on private." A shy smile makes its way to grace Jeno's face, as he pushes the bridge of his glasses upwards. "In short, I visited your profile around a thousand of times too."

Renjun finally connects everything together. _Oh my God._

"You're way cuter than the picture you put in your LinkedIn though," Jeno adds, before slyly continuing. "So, since the company doesn't have anything against office romance, do you perhaps want to take this chance to go on a date with me sometime, this weekend?"

Renjun struggles to summon words from his mouth. "To be fair, I'm not even accepted for the job _yet_ ," Renjun answers, before continuing. "But, yes— _yes_!" Renjun finally finds it in himself to flash a wide, gleeful grin at the latter. "I'd love to have a date with you, Lee Jeno."

Never in his wildest dreams that Renjun has dreamed of scoring a perfect man like Jeno, and having his fingers laced with Jeno's longer, warmer ones as they both walk along Han River after a long, fulfilling date, Renjun can only stare at the man beside him in awe.

"Having fun staring?" Jeno's raspy, voice disrupts Renjun's gazing session. Renjun looks away in embarrassment, and if it's during the blaring daylight, Jeno might've been able to see how red Renjun is right now. But it's night, and Renjun's safe from looking like an absolute tomato in front of the man he has tried so hard to impress.

"C-Can't help it." Renjun utters, shyly. Jeno tilts his head to look over at Renjun, slowly breaking into an endearing chuckle. "Goodness, you're _fucking_ adorable." Jeno groans.

Renjun can only giggle in response, soon finding himself melting into a puddle of happiness and joy and everything pretty.

Contemplating, Renjun quickly stands on his toes and places a quick peck on Jeno's left cheek, causing the older to cease all movement almost immediately.

Renjun pries his face away from looking at Jeno, and Jeno soon cracks a lopsided, cheeky smile before proceeding to tease the already shy Renjun. "How about my right cheek?" Well, maybe Renjun does like Jeno, _a lot_. And maybe, Jeno does too.

SM Corporations hasn't really called back. But for what it's worth, Renjun found himself a potential boyfriend, a _hot_ one at that. Well, he got lucky. They kinda got _Linked(In)_.

**Author's Note:**

> i honestly feel like it's bland and boring, i suck at fluff, that's one. and two, i wrote this in five hours so i don't really know what to expect. i hope it lives up to a fraction of your expectations, at least. thank you for reading!
> 
> comments and kudos are very much appreciated :] take care and stay safe <3


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